


Dog's Best Friend

by Ononymous



Series: Undertale Anniversary Requests 2017 [10]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Gen, Post-Undertale Pacifist Route
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-01
Updated: 2017-11-01
Packaged: 2019-01-18 17:25:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,754
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12392673
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ononymous/pseuds/Ononymous
Summary: Asgore unexpectedly has a little company one evening.





	Dog's Best Friend

**Author's Note:**

> Original Pitch: Asgore adopts a puppy post-TP

Asgore sat in a chair by the fireplace, enjoying tea with a shot of brandy in it to mix things up a little. He had just come off from an action packed weekend of being a dad. He couldn't remember the last time they did so much together, but school was in the morning, and Toriel's proximity to the school meant they wouldn't have to get up quite as early. It made sense to him. The house was pretty peaceful. He revelled in it, but not for too long. His revelling had a habit of transmuting into dwelling, and pondering the other house he lived in alone for the longest time. His teacup was soon empty, so with a grunt he got to his furry paws and plodded to the kitchen.

One downside of being able to embrace his father duties was the surprising amount of rubbish that could accrue when he was on call. And sure enough his bin was full, when on Friday it had been half-empty. Not that it was difficult for him to carry it out, but the weather wasn't particularly pleasant. Still, nothing a little magic couldn't fix. Rain vanishing with a hiss of steam above his horns, he took the bag out front to the main trash can by the street, and deposited it. He turned to head back inside, and was halfway to his door when he heard the crash.

Wheeling around, he saw something rummaging around in the trash can, which was now knocked over. Curious, he approached it, and found a small white dog sniffing hopefully in an empty snail package.

"Goodness, what are you doing?"

The dog stopped its probing and regarded the tall monster before it. But instead of giving one of those looks that Snowdin Dogs usually did if they decided not to speak, it just trotted up to him and sniffed his paw. And then he felt a wet tongue lick it.

"Oh, hee hee, that tickles! Are you lost? Are you related to Lesser Dog?"

As he studied it, Asgore realised how scrawny the dog was. Not even counting the rain, it looked really thin. Its fur was matted, and there was a nick in its ear.

"Hmm. Perhaps you'd be safer inside until I can phone someone."

It was as he picked the dog up that Asgore realised what he had. It would always have been easy to hold in his mighty arms, but he could tell it was a lot heavier than a Snowdin dog should be. Like it had a lot of physical matter.

"Oh, you... you are a _dog_ dog, aren't you? Not a monster at all?"

The dog just yipped, and licked his muzzle, causing Asgore's ears to twitch. Its total lack of fear or hostility warmed his heart. Well, he had come this far.

Keeping the dog close to him so his spell would keep it from getting any more wet, he re-entered to his house and returned to the living room. He carefully placed it on the mat before the fireplace, where it duly shook the excess water off its coat, Asgore being spared from the spray by it hissing into steam before him. Smiling a little, he raised a clawed hand shot a ball of flame at the fireplace, where a toasty fire started instantly. The dog barked once in surprise, but then very quickly it curled up and started snoozing. It must have been exhausted.

Asgore studied it carefully. There was no collar to speak of, so either it wasn't anyone's pet or it had been lost somehow. If it did have an owner, they hadn't cared for it very well. He could see its ribcage. He concluded it must be a stray. Probably a hungry one.

"Hmm, I shall probably have to feed you. Let me see..."

It struck him: the doggy chow he kept when Doggo or Dogaressa wanted to complain about something. Heading into the kitchen, he pulled out the bag, filled a bowl, then filled a second bowl with water. Returning to the living room he placed both of them by the sleeping figure.

To absolutely rule out the possibility that he had inadvertently kidnapped someone, he went to the cramped phone annex underneath the stairs, consulted his phone book via his spectacles, and called around. He had a cellphone with everyone's personal numbers on it, but at this time of evening it felt rude to call directly. At the end of this, he concluded that, every dog that had come from the Underground was accounted for, though they were curious about why the King would ask about something like that on a Sunday night. Satisfied that it was indeed a regular non-magical dog he had, Asgore became aware of a slight rattling noise.

Returning, the dog had woken up, and buried its face in the bowl of doggy chow, eating nonstop. He'd been right about how hungry it was. There was also some water on the floor. His guest wasn't a tidy eater.

"Oh. You are enjoying that, are you?"

The dog finally looked up and barked at him happily, before resuming the feast. Asgore sat down on his chair and watched the action. His fire was doing the trick anyway, the fur had dried out and was looking almost as fluffy as his own.

"I suppose I need to decide who would be best to care for you. We do not have a pound. I'd have to go to the next town over and ask around-"

The dog apparently decided it was full, for it suddenly turned around and leapt into his lap, trying to lick his face.

"Woah! Easy there, pup."

It took a while, but it finally grew bored and curled up on his lap, ready to sleep again. Asgore naturally gave off a comforting warmth, it fit with his affinity for fire magic, so the dog seemed to conclude he would make a good bed. Asgore hadn't noticed it at first, but its breathing had been slightly ragged when he first discovered it. Now their breath was more relaxed and smooth. When the last time they had eaten a proper meal? If he did nothing else for them, he was glad he'd done that. Trusting that the magical fire would be just as effective as a blanket as his belly, he carefully rested them on the mat once again.

With careful steps, he retired upstairs to use the internet and research his options. The first thing he discovered was that the nearest pound that did no euthanization was actually over a hundred miles away. Finding someone to care for them wouldn't be a quick job.

Well, the companionship was nice. Having an opportunity to be a father again was wonderful of course, and he wouldn't trade it for the world, but this was a nice change of pace. It wouldn't be too much of a burden to care for it while he tried to find a suitable home. So he closed the tab on pounds, and looked up vets. Oh look, there was one in town. Come to think of it, Dogamy had definitely talked about getting flea powder somewhere in town once, this must have been it. Well, he knew what he was doing in the morning.

As he made this decision, a smell hit his nostrils and his muzzle wrinkled in distaste. It was a lot more common back before the war, when humans had a lot more animals and livestock in close proximity to them, but he never forgot it. As long as the dog was with him, he'd be ensuring they got an all-magical diet.

* * *

"School was great, Dad, but what's this surprise you're talking about?"

"Patience, Frisk. You'll see soon enough."

"I wanna see too!"

"Don't worry, Asriel, this surprise is for everyone."

As the three of them approached his house, he spotted a snail package he must have missed in the initial cleanup. So he picked it up and, with careful aim, threw it into the trash can.

"Good shot, Dad!"

"Thanks, Son."

Unlocking his door, his children slipped past him and looked around, as if expecting to see a spaceship in the hall. He closed the door behind him.

"Asara?"

A cheerful bark came from the kitchen. His housemate bound into the hallway, but then skidded to a halt at the two unexpected guests. Their head weaved back and forth, then decided to gun for Asriel, who gave a small bleat of surprise as they lept for him. He managed to both catch them and not topple over, but his reward for this was slobber in his fur.

"Dad, is that a real- sorry, a non-magical dog?"

"It appears so, Frisk. I found them on Sunday night, and I've been caring for them while I looked for a suitable home."

Asara seemed to agree with magical food. In addition to no more accidents, they had filled out surprisingly quickly. There had been a few bald patches Asgore hadn't noticed at first, but now these were almost completely overgrown with fresh fur.

"Woah, easy there, puppy!" laughed Asriel, having properly acclimated to the affection. Asara relented at last, now choosing to sniff Frisk with perhaps a little more caution, seeing how they were rather difficult to the two people they had warmed up to first. But eventually they got a good-natured lick of the hand as well.

"You said you were looking for a home for them, Dad? Have you had any luck?"

"Well I could take them to a pound, Asriel. But the nearest one is a long way away, and it's been hard to find the time."

Asara started whining.

"Oh of course, I feed them when I get home. One moment, children."

He walked into the kitchen. Asriel and Frisk heard a rattling noise, and he emerged again with a bright red bowl with "ASARA" in white writing, filled with doggy chow on one side and water on the other. Asara barked their appreciation, and started into it.

"Even with magical food, they still need a walk afterwards. I thought you might be able to help me with that. And then perhaps we can discuss proper long term care plans for them."

He knelt down and pet Asara gently. As he did so, Asriel shot a grin at Frisk, who promptly returned it. If they had their way, the topic of finding another home for the dog wouldn't be coming up that evening.

**Author's Note:**

> Original Pastebin Version: https://pastebin.com/kyF23MSv
> 
> Thanks to [Doogly_Writes](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Doogly_Writes/pseuds/Doogly_Writes/works) for proof reading
> 
> Let me know what you think, and thanks for reading!


End file.
